Israeli, Hezbollah agree to ceasefire starting on Friday - U.S. official

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire, set to begin at 4 p.m. local time on Friday, following a sharp escalation of hostilities in Lebanon overnight.

Israel and Iran-backed ‌Hezbollah ​have agreed to a ceasefire beginning at 4 p.m. local time on Friday (1300 GMT), a senior U.S. ‌official told Reuters, after hostilities between them had escalated sharply overnight in Lebanon. "Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire," the official said, adding that negotiators for ‌the U.S. and Qataris worked out the deal with help from Iran. “We ‌understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.” The intensification of violence in Lebanon strained the U.S.-Iranian interim agreement signed on Wednesday ⁠to ​end the wider war ⁠in the Middle East. A Hezbollah lawmaker earlier told Reuters that Iran had informed the group ⁠that talks with Washington could not continue without the implementation of a comprehensive ceasefire. Overnight, ​Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people in Lebanon, the Lebanese health ⁠ministry reported, while four Israeli soldiers were killed in south Lebanon in one of the deadliest attacks ⁠by ​Hezbollah during this war. The Iran deal requires the United States, Iran, and their allies to declare an immediate and permanent termination of ⁠military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. Violence abated significantly earlier this week, but has ⁠since picked ⁠up.